Her Scars
by TwilightLabyrinth
Summary: The battle ended badly. Brought to Naruto's world in the body of a small child she was kept and tortured for years. Brought to Konoha for safety, just how deep do her scars run?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter

The dust cleared. The last battle for the Shikon was over, she could feel it. Her friends stumbled to their feet with smiles plastered to their faces. Inuyasha was the first to move towards her to hug her but was stopped by a dark energy. A dark green tentacle shot up from below the ground and grabbed Kagome around her waist. She screamed a weak amount of power streaming from her body trying to defend herself from the attack but it was useless. Naraku rose up from the ashes of his defeat and sneered at the writhing miko. Laughing he sent out a strong blast of miasma and when Kagome tried to turn around to see if her friends were alright he forced her to face him.

"They are dead, Kagome, and you killed them," were the last words she heard before she passed out.

The next thing she knew she was awake but not in her own body. This body was smaller and weaker than her body. Naraku laughed as she discovered the chains around her wrists that held her up. At least he had left hr clothed, the thought was the only thing that allowed her to keep her dignity and glare. He laughed at the two year old Kagome who still had the audacity to glare at him. His amusement didn't last long though, and soon he hit her for the first time. The first hit was to her face, then he punched her in the gut, and, just as he was leaving, he dragged his claws down one of her arms. All she could try to do was try to breath and keep her younger self from crying even after he was gone.

As the years past the torture got worse, sometimes he'd use whips or machines and others he'd just beat her to the brink of death and leave her in a pool of blood. Always he reminded her that her friends were dead because of her and what she'd done in a previous life. By the time she was seven she didn't even make a sound for Naraku to hear. Her body was littered with scars from his torture and from a failed escape attempt. For Naraku the pleasure of her pain was beginning to bore him.

"Perhaps, miko," he stressed her title and she tensed, "there is another way to break you."

She squeezed her eyes shut, determined that no matter what he did she wouldn't break. Behind her there was a large explosion that sent chunks of dirt flying everywhere and she could sense the presence of the group that had done it lurking just beyond the hole. Naraku prepared to fight but when he saw how their eyes lingered on the bloody girl a new plan formed in his mind. He would let her go free, give her the taste of freedom and maybe more and then rip it all away. He vanished.

"Somebody, retrieve Hōshō, she's wounded." The leader yelled. "It'll be alright, little one, you're safe now. We're gonna take you somewhere safe."

Another man joined her group of saviors and gently released her from her the chains that had been holding her up. "I think her arm is broken and all these lacerations…what did this man do to her?"

"We should stabilize her and take her to the village," the leader said.

Hōshō went about healing the visible cuts and set her arm. The men took turns carrying her on their backs all the way to the village. No matter how hard they tried none of them could get the broken girl could talk or get any information out of her. By the time the group arrived at the Hokage's office they were certain she was mute from all the torture she'd endured. The Hokage immediately ordered her sent to the hospital while her rescuers stayed behind to give their reports.

"Who is she, Asuma?" The Hokage asked.

"I don't know. We found the man responsible for the destruction with her; it looked like he had been torturing her for years. As for an identity, she hasn't spoken a word since we found her. The physical wounds we can see but what I'm really worried about are the mental and emotional scars that we can't."

"I'll keep my eye on her while I can but I want you to watch her as long as she is in the village."

Kagome was covered in bandages and was hooked up to several machines the beeped when her body did things. A bitter memory hit her about her fathers and just how much she hated hospitals. A stream of nurses had been parading through her room all morning with sympathetic glances and flowers from villagers who'd heard about her. It made her sick. Did they really think that flowers or words would heal the damage that had been done? After a while of trying to bare it she moved on and pretended to sleep.

"Is she asleep?" the voice of the leader rescuer asked.

"I think so but you can go in if you like." Her current nurse said.

"Has she said anything?"

"Yes, her name is Kagome and she thinks she's seven."

"Thinks?" the man asked confused.

"During the check up the doctors found signs of repeat abuse, they haven't dated all the injuries yet but it appears that man had her there for years."

"Thank you." He paused and waited till the nurse left and then leaned in to whisper, "I know you're awake." She opened one eye. "Hello, Kagome. How are you feeling?"

She turned her head looked at the wall in front of her. All she wanted was to be out of that place and to get the chance to have her revenge on him. On the other hand, she did owe this man her life for leading the tam that had rescued her. She took a small breath, "I'm fine." Her voice was monotone and soft, effects of having been silent for so long.

"See, now we can talk," the excitement in his voice made her stomach clench.

"I want to leave this place." _He will kill them all, just because I was here. I can't let that happen, not to these innocent people, no matter how foolish they are. _

"You can trust us, Kagome; we can protect you if you let us. This village is strong and there is a will that binds everyone who lives here together, that makes us strong. Wouldn't you want to be a part of that someday?" He asked hopefully.

"No." she rolled over as best she could and closed her eyes. "Go away."

Asuma lingered for a moment, hoping that she would change her mind. Eventually when she didn't roll over he sighed and left the room. When the door shut she rolled back flat staring at the door. She had to admit a small part of her wanted him to stay to fight her and fight _for_ her but she pushed it down. It was better that they never got close to her or else they would die too, just like everyone else she'd ever cared about. _He _would kill them.

Two weeks later she was released from the hospital. After her release the Hokage and Asuma arranged for her to be placed with a foster family in the village. Asuma would visit her from time to time and slowly their relationship improved. At the time she hadn't quite figured out to tell him that she wanted to go to the Academy in two years when she was old enough. Kagome knew she was letting them get too close but she was starting to heal in ways she never thought she would ever be able to. Two months passed and her voice was beginning to sound more human than before and she was smiling for the first time in years. She was playing in the park when she ran into Asuma, who had just come back from an important mission, and the two spent some time talking about the Academy. He was still with her when the Anbu came with the news.

While she had been out her surrogate parents and sister had been killed. The house was a mess off blood and disembodied limbs. At first many of the villagers believed she had killed them but Asuma told them that he'd been with her at the park and his testimony spared her the accusing glares. For her part Kagome did not shed a single tear for them and Asuma could see her pulling back into the shell he'd found her in. Villagers whispered that she was cursed and that the Hokage should send her away to a temple or something. Soon enough only Asuma remembered the real Kagome and the light in her eyes as it slowly faded away.

"Kagome!" he called to her one day as she made her way home from the market. "Hey, Kagome!"

She continued to ignore him until he was forced to follow her all the way back to her house. On the wall beside her house he could still see the remnants of the spider mark left by the murderer in their blood. "Leave me alone, Asuma Sarutobi, or you'll die too. I'm not a good friend to have." She went in and locked the door behind her.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Two Years Later

Kagome pulled on her boots as she headed out to her first day at the Academy. When she'd dressed that morning she'd made sure to cover almost every scar. A grey turtle neck t-shirt, a pleated skirt, knee high socks, ¾ length jacket, fingerless elbow length gloves, and bandages to her knees, so that only her face and knees were showing. On her way she passed Asuma without a single word passing between them. The weight of the silence pressed on her but she needed him to be safe, he had people cared about him and needed him.

She entered the Academy compound with a flood of parents and students. Mothers pulled their children back and whispered cursed to each other. To the left side of the courtyard there was another boy sitting on the swing alone, it appeared they were shunning him too. With her powers she could see the spirit of a man with his hand resting on the boy's shoulder protectively. The spirit met her eyes with a caring gaze that reminded her of the great leaders she had met on her previous journey. A small amount of curiosity bubbled up within her. Why was the boy all alone and who was the spirit behind him? She decided that it was better for her to go into the classroom rather than stand outside with others that hated her. The room was empty so she found a seat in the back in the shadows and waited. A few minutes later a stream of students came in behind Iruka, the chunnin in charge of her class.

"Welcome, students, today you start your journeys to becoming ninjas. Let's begin with…." She tuned him out and just stared out the window at a nearby tree branch. A spider was building its web where the branch and trunk came together. Images of her past, the spider mark on Kagura's back, the same mark in blood by her door, and the scars on her back where Naraku had carved the word on her. She turned her mind back to Iruka trying to push those thoughts from her mind. "Class dismissed."

Kagome took the books that had been handed out at some point and headed to the library. The best part about the library on the Academy grounds was that the only people who came around the Library were ninjas who normally kept to themselves. She returned her last book and found a scroll on midrange taijutsu. After checking it out she went to her secret place in the woods, an abandoned shrine that had been left in disrepair. No one came around that area of the woods anymore. The first thing she went through were the ninjutsu she'd been working on for a week and then when she knew she couldn't do more safely she moved on to the taijutsu scroll. Once she was thoroughly tired she sat down and moved on to her actual homework from Iruka. It was all first days stuff. She lied about half of it. Before she left to return home she visited the small memorial she'd created in the back of the shrine with drawings she'd done of her friends and the last pictures she had of her surrogate family.

On her way home she passed by one of her classmates, Sasuke, and his father working on a jutsu. At first there was a warm tugging at her heart and then she watched his father walk away when he couldn't complete it. An unknown yet familiar emotion threatened to spill over. She turned and walked to her home quickly. Only when the door was closed behind her did she let herself remember. She had never been good enough for him. It was always Kikyo this or Kikyo that. Had he ever seen her as more than just a copy of the original? Right before she went to bed she looked out at the new moon and it brought fresh emotion to her eyes. Inuyasha was human on the night of the new moon and it always made him worse. But she had loved him. Loved his human side, his demon side, she loved him for everything he was. That was the long time ago, though, and there was no Inuyasha anymore.

Thinking about caring for people no matter who they were, she couldn't help but think of Asuma. No matter what she said to him or how she acted toward him he was always kind to her. Whenever he caught her out after dark he would lecturer her and insist on walking her home. It made her want to laugh. She remembered when he caught her last week and forced her to find yet another route home.

"_Kagome!" someone called sternly._

_She turned to see Asuma running after her. "What?" she asked curtly suppressing the need to roll her eyes at him._

"_What have I told you about being out after dark? It-"_

"_Isn't safe for a girl my age to wonder out alone, I know. The dark can't harm anyone, I've seen worse any way." She said walking away. _

"_Look, Kagome, I'm just worried about you. You've changed and I'm worried that you're holding because you're scared of something but you can trust us, trust me. This village is your home now, Kagome. Let us help you, let us take care of you." Asuma pleaded. "We can protect you."_

"_No you can't, you can't protect me, and you can't 'save' me. So just go because I can't help you either. Just leave me alone." The decrescendo in her voice gave away exactly how she felt as she started to run. He could have caught up with her if he had wanted but her words shocked him. What did she think was going to happen? More importantly, the thought crossed his mind that it might have something to do with the murder of her adoptive family. _

Looking up at the moon still she wondered what he was doing right now. He had been kind enough to try to take care of her. That was the reason she couldn't let him get to close, she couldn't watch him die too. She curled herself into a ball and tried to force herself into a deep sleep. Nightmares took her the moment her eyes closed. Blood was everywhere, dripping from the walls and in deep pools. The scene was almost too familiar and then she recognized it. A scream ripped itself from her throat. Kasumi, Fumio, and baby Ai's bodies were scattered across the floor. Her last family, the last people she'd let in, were dead because she'd let them in. She fell to her knees, not caring about the blood that splashed up on to her, and sobbed.

"See what you've done now, little miko, you've killed them?" a deep voice asked behind her. "They could have lived happily but then you came into their lives. And while they were being killed," the scene changed, "you were out being a foolish child." Fresh tears fell down her cheeks as she watched herself laughing and talking with Asuma and then hearing the screams in the background. "You didn't even try to protect them, instead you left them to die."

Kagome felt as he ran a claw down her arm not breaking the skin then in a flash he flicked his arm back and slashed down my back. Her mouth opened in a silent scream. The act angered the man. He reeated the act over and over till she was moments from bleeding to death. How many times had this actually happened? How many times had he brought her this close to death? He laughed and left her there, near death and surrounded by the empty, soulless bodies of those she loved. This was the best torture he'd ever have. He knew her heart well and he knew that in this place he could use it against her.

"You will pay for this, Naraku." She whispered brokenly.

"There is the strength I remember. Keep it. I want to see it fade from your eyes when I finally get my victory." He rubbed her cheek gently before leaving.

"Naraku!" she yelled as she tried to push herself up.

She awoke tangled in her sheets hours before dawn. Between her sweat and her tears her sheets were soaked. There would be no more sleep she decided so she got up and showered hoping to wash away the smell of sweat. After her shower she stared at the mirror tracing each of the scars she could see with her eyes. Pain still radiated from each of them even though she had not received a new one in two years. She brushed the tangles out of her mop of inky black hair before getting dressed and leaving for the day. By the time she was on the main road through the forest the sun was just coming up.

The light didn't reach the back of the shrine but she lit her candles and prayed anyway. "Please forgive me. I will avenge you I swear. I just need more time to prepare myself and get stronger. I need to be stronger so that I have the strength to kill him with my own two hands."

Three Years Later

Kagome entered the Academy passing the chaos of her classmates to get to her seat in the back. The girls in her class were fighting over who got to sit next to Sasuke Uchiha, he last of his clan, and the most popular boy in class. Her heart ached for him. His family had been killed a year ago. Naruto, the other villager outcast, jumed in front of Sasuke and glared. It actually made her smile until she saw the guy behind Naruto start to move. Just as the blonde started she threw her book between them. The girls screamed and the boys looked in her direction.

"Can I have my book back? Please?" she asked.

Sasuke picked it up and threw it back to her. Iruka came in with a list of their new teams which automatically silenced the room. Every once in a while Sasuke would look over at the mystery that always sat in the back. When she had asked for her book back was the first time anyone had heard her speak. _She is just like me, she has nothing left. Is that why she never speaks? Who is Kagome Higurashi?_ He thought as Iruka named each of the teams and their jounin leader.

"Team 7, Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzimaki, and Kagome Higurashi…."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"What?!" Sakura and Naruto yelled in unison.

Kagome, who had been leaning back up to the point Iruka had called her name, flinched at their yelling. No one else seemed too leased at the outburst. Even Iruka was showing signs of annoyance and he was one of the few that could handle Naruto. Her only hope was to push on with her training and go through the exams as fast as she could on her own. Still, why had Sakura stood up? Naruto and Sasuke had it in for each other but as far as she knew Sakura had no problem with anyone that that been place on their team.

"Why does a star like me have to be on a team with a loser like him?" Naruto yelled.

"Yeah! Why is Kagome on my team? There is no way she passed!" Sakura yelled as well pointing back causing Kagome to raise her eyebrows. The petal haired girl turned to glare at her with a strange amount of jealousy. So that was her problem, she thought Kagome was competition.

Iruka growled. "Naruto, Sasuke is the top of the class where as you are dead last. The teams are meant to balance strengths and weaknesses of the members." He sighed and turned to Sakura. "As for Kagome, she did pass; she tied with Sasuke for the top score. I know why you think she failed, Kagome does not participate in class on a regular basis but she has shown great proficiency in the physical side of being a shinobi and she has passed every test in her time her in the Academy. Sakura, you have not. You show almost no physical skill. On the other hand you have shown a great deal of intelligence and a great deal of improvement since you started."

Both genins sat down and Kagome leaned back again. The true moment she'd relaxed was when Asuma had been paired with a different team. She didn't want to have to deal with him in that type of situation. No doubt the Hokage had thought about their past and put that into his decision. Still their jounin instructor hadn't been announced yet thanks to the outburst of her teammates. Sasuke looked back at her with curiosity like he had ever thought someone might catch up to him in scores. She rolled her eyes at him.

"Your jounin instructor will be Kakashi Hatake." He moved on to other topics. He named off the other teams and then gave them instructions on where to meet their jounins after lunch.

As soon as she could she left the room for the training courts behind the Academy. Unless a class was using the courts they were empty which allowed Kagome to practice there as much as she wanted. That day she decided to only run through her taijutsu techniques instead of wasting chakra on ninjutsu or genjutsu. Midway through she thought about working on her kenjutsu but then realized that her sword was sealed in a scroll at home and there was no way to get it in time to practice with it before meeting their sensei.

Sasuke followed the Academy enigma to the training courts. No one had ever really spoken to or about Kagome Higurashi since the incident two years before she started the academy. From what he'd heard her adotive family had been murdered while she was out. Everyone believed she'd killed them until a shinobi spoke for her. He watched as she ran through moves he'd never even seen before with speed that was almost unheard of for low level genins like themselves. At one point her foot slipped and she fell. Even in the moment of failure she seemed completely in control; exercising the prefect technique they'd been taught to catch herself and roll into a position that would allow her to attack again if she were really in a fight. He left before she could catch him watching her.

Moving herself up from the fall, Kagome did a small cool down before going to get the lunch she'd packed. She settled in a tree to reflect on her new team. Sasuke was a capable shinobi but his hatred was strong. The rumor mills around Konoha let her know that it was his brother, Itachi, that had killed his clan and she could assume that it was this that caused his hatred. The pink haired fan girl, Sakura, was almost worthless. Perhaps she'd be good as a spy or even as a medic but not as a fighter. And then there was Naruto. Since that first day when she'd seen him on the swing she'd learned more about him. The most important was that he had a demon sealed within him. The spirit, his father, had helped her to find out even more and so she knew that he was no real threat to anyone unless the seal was broken.

"Kakashi Hatake…where have I heard that name?" She whispered.

Maybe Asuma had mentioned it during the good times she'd had. The truth was she didn't remember and she didn't care to. Anything she needed to know about this Kakashi Hatake she would learn this afternoon when she actually met the guy. Movement near the actual training ground used by all shinobi caught her eyes and forgetting her meeting with her sensei she followed it. A silver haired man walked the path to a diamond shaped stone. She remembered then that she had met him before with Asuma not to far from that spot. They hadn't truly spoken but she had met him. She could feel his sadness so she left him and returned to the Academy.

Sakura was yelling at Naruto for something as she entered. When she pulled the door an eraser fell but she caught it. Naruto gulped and Kagome just shook her head silently. Not a minute later Kakashi strolled through the door way. He and Kagome made eye contact for a split second until she looked away.

"You're late!" Naruto and Sakura yelled together, they were doing that a lot lately.

"My first impression of you is….you're all idiots. Meet me on the roof." He teleported the moment he was done talking.

Kagome jumped out of the window onto a tree branch and then on to the roof. The rest of the team came up the stairs slowly and out of breath. The three sat next to Kagome on the ground looking up at Kakashi waiting for him to start. Remembering the yearbooks she'd seen in the Library she knew that he had trained under Naruto's father, Minato Namikaze. She wondered if that was why he had this team or just Naruto and if everything Iruka had said was irrelevant.

"Okay, let's start with some introductions." Kakashi said leaning against the metal railing at the edge of the roof.

"What do you want us to say?" Sakura asked.

"Well…how about your likes, dislikes, dreams, hobbies, things like that."

"Why don't you go first?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah, you look suspicious." Sakura said narrowing her eyes (got it from the manga…hehehe…I thought it was kinda cute for me least favorite character).

"Me? My name is Kakashi Hatake. I don't want to tell you about my likes or dislikes. Dreams for the future…? hmmm…Well, I have lots of hobbies…" He said looking up thoughtfully. "Now it's your turn, from right to left."

Kagome rolled her eyes. _So mysterious, he only gave us his name. _She thought sarcastically._ He could have just said he didn't want to tell us anything. It would have been faster._

"Me! Me! My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I like cup ramen. What I like even more is the ramen Iruka-sensei buys me. What I dislike is waiting the three minutes for the cup ramen to cook. My dream..." by this time the other four were rolling their eyes waiting for another ramen comment "is to surpass Hokage! And then have all the people of this village acknowledge my existence! Hobbies…pranks, I guess."

_An admirable dream, Naruto._ Kagome thought with a light smile.

"Next." Kakashi said nodding at Sasuke.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. There are a lot of things I dislike but I don't really like anything. And…I don't want to use the word 'dream' but I have an ambition. The resurrection of my clan and…to kill a certain man."

_I thought so…_Kakashi thought sadly.

_He better not mean me…_Naruto thought inching away.

_So cool…_Sakura thought with a light blush.

_He must mean his brother, Itachi Uchiha. How to explain to him that revenge won't get him anywhere, though?_ Kagome thought.

"Alright, now for the girls."

"I'm Sakura Haruno the thing I like is…" blush…"Well the person I like is…" blush… "Ummm…should I say my dream for the future…?" blush… "Oh my! The thing I dislike is…Naruto. My hobby is…" She blushed deeper than she had the whole time.

_Fan girls,_ Kagome thought rolling her eyes. "I'm next right?" she asked leaning forward. "My name is Kagome Higurashi. I don't like anything in particular, I absolutely hate spiders and weaklings, I have no hobbies and my dream…well that isn't really any of your business is it?"

Kakashi's visible eye narrowed. He had gotten more out of Sakura than he had her dark haired counterpart. To top it off her tone led him to believe that she was hiding something and if she was pressed she would let none of it go. All he knew about her he knew from rumors around the village. He knew most of them to be false but they were based in the truth of her past. She had been brought half dead o the village by a group of ninja on a different mission and then she was put into the care of a small family. A family that had later been killed. The scene had been bloody and horrible.

"Tomorrow we will start our duties." Kakashi said.

"Duties?! What kind of duties?" Naruto asked jumping up.

"First we are going to do something with just the four of us. Survival training."

"How is training a part of our duties?" Sasuke asked.

"We did enough training at the ninja academy." Sakura complained.

"I'm your opponent, but this isn't normal training."

They all looked up. "What is it?" Naruto asked speaking for the group. Kakashi just laughed at them.

"Hey what's so funny sensei?" Sakura asked completely confused.

"No...Well…it's just that…When I tell you this you guys are just going to flip." Kakashi paused becoming serious. "Of the 27…excuse me, 28 graduates only 9 will be chosen as genin, a chance of 10. The rest will be sent back to the academy. This training is an exam with a failure rate of over 66%." The other three paled. "See, I told you you'd flip." He laughed.

"What the hell?! But we worked so hard! What was the point of graduating?!" Naruto yelled.

"Oh…that? That's just to select those that have the chance to become genin. Anyway, tomorrow you will be graded on the training field, bring your ninja tools." He turned to leave. "Oh, and skip breakfast, you'll probably throw up."

_**A/N: most of the conversation in the second half is paraphrased from the actual manga, I'm typing it as I read it.**_


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Kagome walked around the village looking for Kakashi. After spending hours looking and skipping lunch she finally returned home to get something to eat. She had hoped to speak with him about moving through the exams faster than her teammates but she guessed it would have to wait until after the training the next day. During introductions when Naruto had announced his dream to them she felt pride. She couldn't afford to get that close to him or any of them and that thought was proof that she was. Finishing her lunch she pulled out the scroll with her sword sealed within it.

Her sword cut through the air in patterns she'd learned from scrolls and patterns she'd seen Sesshoumaru use in the feudal era. Of course most of her moves would be considered slow and sloppy to the demon lord's own. Kenjutsu was not her best skill, in fact it had to be her weakest. She didn't like the idea but she knew that the only way to change it was to keep practicing and to learn new techniques. She had held back during her time at the Academy as to not draw to much attention, now as a genin she wouldn't show any weakness. The next day's survival training was definitely a test of skill so she would prove to her sensei she had the skills necessary to move up to chunin.

The next morning she stayed home longer than they were supposed to and ate breakfast. She could see Kakashi being late just to torture them. Before she left she added a hip pouch with a few extra kunai and a few sealing scrolls hidden in it. She couldn't afford to hold back in this little exercise. She ran the roof tops avoiding any unnecessary contact with villagers. It was pointless to run, she was late already, but it felt good to run with the wind. When she arrived at the tree line she continued to run within the upper canopy. A small smile found its way to her face. It was one of the best feelings in this world to her, within the trees and moving so fast that not even the birds noticed her, and only then would she allow herself to smile. She slowed down as she reached their assigned training area and then jumped down to land next to her teammates. Sakura jumped out of her skin and glared.

"You're late!" Sakura growled.

"Considering his actions yesterday I had a strong feeling he wouldn't be here for a little while so I stayed home." Kagome said with a cool shrug.

"And what about your gear, did you forget it or do you not have any?" Sakura asked with a sneer.

Kagome looked at her teammates. Each held a rather large bag over their shoulders. "Minimalism," she pated the pouches on her hip and thigh, "ever heard of it? I don't need a lot of gear to accomplish my goals and what I do need I can carry right here."

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Sasuke smirk at her comment. Naruto made a groaning sound so she turned a looked at him. The poor guy had followed orders and hadn't eaten breakfast when, Kagome felt, he probably ate something really big. She was thankful she hadn't been foolish enough to believe Kakashi's warning but it didn't matter, she could go days without food if she needed. Like with most things, she could handle the pain but once the physical weakness set in she had to do something. Poor Naruto, though, had no self-control in that situation.

Kakashi arrived a while later making some excuse and Sakura and Naruto still screamed at him. "Shall we begin?" He asked setting down an alarm clock. "This clock is set for noon. You have until then to grab one of these bells from me."

"But sensei, there are only three bells and four of us." Sakura said.

"So? One of us won't get one." Kagome said.

"Exactly, and the one that doesn't gets tied to one of those posts over there and won't get lunch. That one will go back to the Academy while the other three go on as ninja. I was you to come at me with ever thing you've…" he was cut off as Naruto ran at him with a kunai posed to kill him. Kakashi grabbed him and twisted the knife so that it was pointed at the back of Naruto's neck. "Now, now, don't be so hasty, I didn't even say 'start' yet."

Kagome's hand twitched. If he made one wrong move she was prepared to protect her teammate. Kakashi let go and met her eyes. For a moment she wondered what he saw there but then he moved on to something else. "Well, you did come at me with the intent to kill. How to put this? I think I'm starting to like you guys." His face grew serious. "Start."

Kagome jumped with the others but moved only a few yards away to some boulders then using her miko powers and genjutsu she hid her presence. Within the brush she could feel Sasuke and Sakura just barely out of line of sight from Kakashi's viewpoint. Naruto, on the other hand, was still in the open in front of their sensei. She gritted her teeth. The idiot was gonna get himself killed before he could become Hokage. She watched silently as the two fought. The end result was almost too stupid for words. Naruto went flying and Kakashi went off to find one of the other two. Naruto got out of the water and found a bell on the ground. It was almost painful how stupid he was.

_Sakura and Sasuke are in the woods and Naruto is out for a little while but where is Kagome._

While Naruto was hanging upside down Sasuke attacked. For a moment even she believed the foolish Jounin had gotten himself killed but it was too easy. In a puff of smoke his body disappeared replaced by a log studded with the kunai and shuriken Sasuke had attacked him with. Sasuke was running through the woods Kakashi and Kagome followed. Sakura noticing her crush's absence ran after him blindly. Nearly tripping she noticed Kakashi in front of her position. She relaxed thinking he hadn't noticed her.

"Sakura behind you."

Sakura looked around. Suddenly Kakashi had disappeared and she was alone. "What was that? Where is sensei? What's going on?"

"Sakura…" Sasuke's voice came from somewhere behind her.

She turned sharply and smiled. "Sasuke-kun!"

Her smile faded when she saw the bloody figure of her crush. His body was covered in kunai and shuriken. He was calling for her to help and trying to reach her but all she could do was stand there in horror. Finally she couldn't take it anymore. She screamed and fainted.

_Maybe I went a bit over board. But really she should have noticed… _Kakashi was reading his book when Sasuke approached from behind. "Sakura was easy to overtake."

_Genjutsu, huh? An illusionary mind control technique. I'm not surprised she was easily defeated. _"I'm different from the others, I won't be so easily defeated."

"Why don't you say that after you get the bell…Sasuke?"

The two turned to face each other. Kakashi kept his book in his hand making the moment extra tense. Sensing his sensei wouldn't make the first move Sasuke made a quick move to his weapons for a quick barrage. Jumping to the side Kakashi made a note of Sasuke's aim. Still, none of them had been able to come up with the point of the test or had come close to doing this on their own. It looked like it would be another year of failures for him.

"It's no use just using head on attacks."

Sasuke smirked and tossed a kunai. When the knife didn't even come close Kakashi narrowed his eyes. _A trap?_ More weapons impale themselves in a tree behind where Kakashi had been standing but he had already moved away. Sasuke reappeared behind his teacher and aimed a kick at his face. The kick was caught before it could do damage. Next came a punch also aimed at Kakashi's face but again it was too slow for him to miss it. Twisting himself in the hopes of finally landing a hit, Sasuke pulled his other leg back and aimed a second kick at his teacher's head. Now Kakashi had both his legs and his hands were free. Just as he made his move for the bells Kakashi dropped him and skidded back.

_Nice try, Sasuke._ Kagome thought with a smirk.

Her teammate landed on his feet prepared to strike. Somewhere in the woods Sakura woke up after her little fainting episode. With dread she remembered Sasuke calling for her to help him as he was on the verge of death and all she done to help him. She got to her feet and ran to find her crush. Naruto was still hanging upside down from the tree. He noticed a large polished stone and the lunch boxes in front of it. With a kitsune like smile he had a plan.

"Well, I'll admit it, you are different from the others."

As Sasuke began to do a series of hand signs Kagome flashed back to their first day at the academy when she'd seen the Uchiha and his father practicing the very jutsu he was attempting and Sasuke had failed. This time however he succeeded in producing a large ball of fire. From where she was hidden in the trees she could see the fear in Kakashi's eyes, real shock he hadn't displayed through their whole fight. Something told Kagome that the fire jutsu was beyond the skill of a normal genin. The fire dissipated revealing a crater but no Kakashi. Sasuke panicked knowing that Kakashi had escaped.

"Underneath you," Kakashi's arm burst from the ground and grabbed Sasuke by the ankle. "Earth style: Headhunter jutsu."

She watched as Sasuke was pulled down into the earth until only his head could be seen. _I guess it's my turn. There has to be away to defeat him. I don't think I'll be able to do it myself though, Naruto and Sakura would probably be able to distract him and lure him into a trap made by Sasuke while I got the bells. Yeah, it might just work. _Smirking she created a clone and sent it off. They didn't have much time. Kakashi sensed his final pupil's presence resurface and ran to catch her.

Kagome jumped beside Sasuke and began to pull him out. "What are you doing?" he hissed.

"I have a plan." She said once she'd gotten him out. "I need you to go find Sakura, I'll get Naruto. We meet back here, got it?"

He nodded and they ran in opposite directions. Kagome could sense Naruto at the starting point near the logs so she headed in that direction. Somehow the idiot had found a way to get himself tied to a post early. She rolled her eyes and checked for Kakashi before she moved out to get her teammate. Naruto didn't notice her until the ropes began to loosen. He turned around to say something but Kagome covered his mouth and signaled him to be silent and follow her. The four met back up in the clearing.

"Alright let's hear this plan of yours, Higurashi." Sasuke said when she arrived.

"Here's how this will work…." Kagome said with a small smile.

"Hehehe, alright, let's do it!" Naruto yelled.

Kagome and Sasuke nodded to each other as they all ran to get into position. The group had ten minutes left before they all failed, if she did this right she could guarantee three of them would move on while only one was held back. She tensed, her hands becoming fists at her side. Sasuke, who was several meters in front of her also hidden in the branches of a tree, gave her the signal letting her know Kakashi had met up with the other two.

"Shadow Clone jutsu," Naruto said as he began to move after his sensei. Every time he got close he would make a grab at the three bells. Finally Kakashi used a weak fire jutsu to get rid of the clones which got him to Sakura.

Sakura snuck behind Kakashi and stole his book. This had been her idea. When they had been trying to plan their attack Sakura was the only one they could not plan around. She did not have a great deal of strength, she knew only basic jutsu, and, as had already been demonstrated, no skill with genjutsu. But Sakura had come up with plan to steal his book to draw him to Sasuke. Once they were within range Sakura dropped the book and ran. Sasuke jumped down and began to actually fight their sensei.

Kagome tensed and prepare for her part. Once Kakashi was thoroughly distracted she jumped down hidden still by her mix of jutsus and came up behind him. She cut the bells of and jumped back. The other two came into the area just as she reappeared to give Sasuke the signal to stop.

"Time is up, you fail." Kakashi said out of breath from the surprise attack.

"You might want to check on that, sensei." Kagome said with a victorious smirk. "On for you," she dropped one in Sakura's hand, "one for you," Naruto, who jumped and cheered, "and one for you." Sasuke smiled and then stopped.

"What about you?" he asked.

Kagome shrugged. "I'll be fine. Unlike Naruto I can survive another year at the Academy."

"So you let Naruto out, huh?" Kakashi asked.

"Yep."

"That was his punishment for eating lunch early, maybe both of you should be tied to the post while the others eat."

"I'll be fine, I'm not that hungry." She smirked. "I ate breakfast. So, your verdict?"

Kakashi's eye turned into a 'u' and he smiled. "You all passed, even you Kagome, because you worked together. Who figured it out?"

The other three looked at each other. "It was Kagome's idea." Naruto said.

"I just learned from the others that going after you alone was pointless." 

He smiled lightly. "Good job. Now tomorrow we start our real duties we'll meet here and head to get our first mission. Until then you guys are dismissed."

Kagome smiled and stretched as she prepared to leave. Maybe she could stay in a team for a little while longer. The others had gathered their things and were getting ready to leave when Naruto asked them to go get ramen with him. She was about to leave when Naruto caught her. "You wanna come too, Kagome?" She couldn't say no to his wide smile so she nodded and followed along.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

For the first time in a long time Kagome felt somewhat at peace as she walked to the training grounds to meet up with the others. She was early but she thought she had a good idea about where Kakashi went when he was supposed to be training them. Naruto smiled at her and she couldn't help but smile back. The four stayed where they had met the day before in silence for almost a half hour before Sakura and Naruto began to get antsy. Kagome glanced at Sasuke. Physically the darker boy was calm but she could see in his eyes he wanted to get on with their daily missions.

"Where is that guy?!" Naruto growled.

Kagome gave a little bemused smirk. "I think I might have a good idea…" She motioned for them to follow.

To tell the truth she wasn't sure he would be there but from the way he'd stared at it that first day she thought he might. And there he was, standing with his hands in his pockets gazing at the polished stone with sorrowful eyes. Kakashi noticed the four he jumped to attention. Beside her, the blonde growled and almost said something but she put her hand on his shoulder and shook her head. The act did not go unnoticed by their sensei. Now that Kagome was closer she could see the stone wasn't as smooth as she'd though, in fact she could see that there were names carved in rows along every side of th diamond shape.

"Sensei," Sakura said. "Who are those people whose names are carved on that stone?"

Kakashi sighed. "They're ninjas who are recognized as heroes of the village."

"I'm gonna be on that stone one day, believe it!" Naruto yelled.

"Naruto…" Kagome said shaking her head. He looked back at her and saw something there he hadn't seen before.

"Wha…?"

"He means they died in service to the village, that's how they became heroes." Naruto's mouth formed an 'o'. She looked at the stone and couldn't help but think of her friends who had died in battle.

"Some of my closest friends' names are carved on this stone. One of them taught me a very important lesson before he died. I used to believe that any ninja who disobeyed the rules was trash and I would have sacrificed my teammates to obey my orders and the rules. He taught me that those who disregard their teammates are trash and not the other way around. I owe him a great deal." His eyes remained locked on the stone but then he turned to Kagome. "That's why I was so proud of you yesterday. You disregarded your own desire to continue on so that the other three could move on. You also broke the rules to allow Naruto to help with the offensive." He smiled. "Alright, let's go get our missions."

They started off in some lady's yard that glared at Kagome the entire time. Kakashi watched under the guise of reading his book at the interaction between the two. During the next mission, fishing liter from a river Naruto almost went over a waterfall. At the last minute he was saved by Sasuke. Next they were sent to catch a runaway cat for a wealth citizen. By the look on the village elders' faces when they brought it back it happened a lot. Kagome was slightly annoyed by the weak missions they had been getting. She understood they were only genin but _still_ this was manual labor!

"Ok, team 7 your next mission is too…." The Hokage began.

"No, no more lame missions, old man! I want a _real_ mission!" Naruto yelled.

"Naruto…" Sakura growled.

"I agree with Naruto." Kagome spoke up. "These missions aren't helping us improve our skills and are not truly helping the village as a whole. We can do more than weed yards and pick up trash. But you'll never know that if we are never allowed to prove ourselves."

The room was silent. No one had ever heard Kagome say that much at once before. The Hokage sighed ad looked over at his son. Years had passed since the two had been close but he could see the look of pride in his eyes as the girl spoke. She was so much stronger than she had been all those years ago. And Naruto, it seemed the prankster had grown up. Next to him Iruka was giving both of them a speech about how missions were doled out to different shinobi ranks.

"Iruka," he said with a shake of his head. "So you both want a harder mission, eh?" The two nodded. "I'll give you a C-rank mission. Send him in."

A set of sliding doors opened to the waiting room. Naruto rolled on to the balls of his feet in anticipation. A man with grey hair and a liquor bottle in his hand stumbled into the room and leveled a good look at the five of them. He grunted at them. Kagome tensed at the look of disapproval in his eyes. Three feet away Naruto fell on his face in disappointment at the man who was to be a part of their first big mission.

"Who are these kids?"

"Team 7 you will be escorting Tazuna the Bridge Builder home to the land of the Waves so he can finish the bridge." The Hokage said.

"Are you sure these brats are ninjas?" The old man asked. "I mean the dark haired boy maybe but the other three, there's just no way!"

Sasuke grabbed Sakura and Naruto but Kagome was beyond his reach. Still holding his teammates back he could see her muscles tense and her hands curl into fist as she moved forward. The bridge builder didn't even have a moment to react before she was in his face prepared to strike. Just before she could she was grabbed by Kakashi. He pulled her back and set her on the ground. She glared at both men before muttering something and leaving. Asuma threw her a worried glance but he knew better than to follow her.

"Don't worry, I'm a jounin. I won't let anything happen." Kakashi said giving the old man an awkward smile.

He nodded to the Hokage and took the old man to lunch. The three genin were told to return to their homes and pack what they would need for a long journey. Naruto forgot about the man's hurtful words and rushed home. He had a real mission and he got to go outside the village! He even skipped his normal lunch at Ichiraku Ramen. At the same time his three teammates were doing the same thing, even Kagome was packing a large bag and sealing it in a scroll. She sealed several other weapons besides her sword and packed them in her hip pouch. She looked at herself in the mirror and for a moment she was seven years old, blood soaked through her bandages, her hair was matted, over all she looked more broken then anyone had ever said. People in the village had always been kinder to her than she had ever wanted until. She could still see the blood spatter on the mirror. She had been weak then, powerless even, but now, she wouldn't let her friends die.

Kagome walked to the village gates alone still partially angered by the bridge builder's comments. Did he truly think that just because she was a girl that she couldn't be a shinobi or even fight? Another wave of anger rolled through her. Even Kakashi knew better than to let her loose on the man and he didn't even know what she could do yet! She had half a mind to leave him if danger should arise during the mission. Then she stopped. That thought was what Naraku wanted from her, he wanted to make her like him. She stood still and calmed herself for a moment until something caught her eye. A medic nin was standing with some of the guards and suddenly she flashed back.

_"Somebody, retrieve Hōshō, she's wounded." The leader yelled. "It'll be alright, little one, you're safe now. We're gonna take you somewhere safe."_

Her blood boiled when he looked at her with pity. She waited on the opposite side of the gate from them and leaned against the wall. This would be only the second she'd passed through the gates. A soft wind blew through the area, rustling the leaves at her feet. She reached down and cupped one in the palm of her hand. The Leaf….the slang term for Konoha…..the symbol of the village…it brought another memory to her mind.

"_This village is strong and there is a will that binds everyone who lives here together, that makes us strong. Wouldn't you want to be a part of that someday?" He asked hopefully._

_"No."_

The memory faded and the leaf blew away just as Kakashi and Tazuna came up to the gates. She curled her fingers into her palm as she watched it fly away. Iruka had talked about the Will of Fire in their first week at the Academy but between Iruka and Asuma she had never felt it. She had heard it in Asuma's voice that day and had seen it in other shinobi and it still seemed like a bunch of words to her. It didn't mean anything to her yet which was just the way she wanted it. She couldn't afford to be close enough to form those bonds.

"Playing in the leaves, little girl?" Tazuna asked.

She glared but remained quiet as the others arrived. Her blonde teammate was jumping up and down with excitement since this would be his first time ever leaving the village. For a moment she spared a glance at the medic nin, Hōshō, and then at her other teammates. The others weren't as excited but she could see their pleasure about getting a bigger mission and getting the chance to go outside. Kakashi eyed her silently while smiling at Naruto's antics. She checked the guard station once more to see Hōshō gone and then she caught sight of him on his way over to them. Immediately she looked the opposite way, praying he wouldn't recognize her.

"Ah, hello, Hōshō-san." Kakashi said.

"Hello, Hatake-san, going on a mission?" he asked seemingly distracted.

"Yes a C-ranked escort mission with my team. Ummm….well, this is Naruto, Sasuke, that's Sakura, and miss doom and gloom over there is-"

"Kagome and I have met before, Kakashi." She could feel his eyes turn to her. All the sudden it felt as though she was wearing less than Sakura and her scars were out for the world to see. She felt tempted to wrap her arms around herself and hide them. "How have you been?"

"I'm fine." Her tone was harsher than she meant but between her anger and her shame she wanted him to leave her alone. In fact she wished that she could go home and hide from the entire world.

Hōshō stood there for a moment before nodding to Kakashi and leaving. Deep down he had been hoping to see her starting to heal from it all, they all had. She didn't know it but her rescuers got together every year on that day, the day they considered her birthday, and talked about how she was doing. The team leader, Asuma, rarely spoke and they knew why. Over the years since her adoptive family's death she had sunk lower and lower and Asuma had been her witness. Now he could see it too, she acted coldly to those who tried to get close.

"Well, I guess we should head out." Kakashi said looking over their faces and lingering on the mystery on his team.

"Let's go." Naruto yelled.

From the corner of his eye he noticed Kagome soften at the blonde's antics. Kakashi thought about her response to the medic's question and the way he seemed to actually be worried about her. What had happened to Kagome that she was like this? The silver haired jounin sighed and kept walking. They passed a puddle on the road and he could tell Kagome knew something was wrong as well but neither of them moved to do anything.

Less than a mile down the road chains came from the trees and cut down their sensei. Kagome tensed, her hand moving to her hip pouch for the scroll concealing her sword. She watched her teammates react as well. Sakura coward with Tazuna, both boys attempted to fight back but Naruto was cut. Then she smelled it, from the chains, an acidic smell: poison. She moved quickly, her hands forming hand signs as fast as she could. Around them the air began to cool drastically and ice began to form on the enemy ninja's. They turned to look at her but they were too late, their bodies were completely incased in ice.

Just as the ice set Kakashi stepped from the trees and nodded to Kagome. "Nice job," he looked at her handy work through barely narrowed eyes. _She shouldn't even be able to do that…_ "Are the rest of you alright?"

"No, Naruto is bleeding!" Sakura screeched.

_Now she cares…_ "Don't move around too much, their blades were poisoned. Sensei, we need to get it out before it spreads or this mission will end here." Kagome said looking up at him. Naruto began to panic and drew out a kunai intending to cut out the poison himself. A small, powerful hand caught his wrist. "Don't be such an idiot Naruto." She wrapped her hands around his hand allowing her miko energy to draw the poisoned blood out. Once she was done the wound closed on its own but he had still lost a lot of blood. "Eat this, it'll help you get the energy you lost back."

"What about you Kago-chan, you lost energy, too?" Naruto asked taking the power bar she offered.

She smiled and produced a second from her pocket. "Sensei, those ninja, what were they after?"

"Good question, they look like Hidden Mist chunin. These ninja our trained to never stop fighting so Kagome make sure your jutsu doesn't let up." She nodded.

"How did you know our movements?" One of the two asked.

"The puddle, idiots. It hasn't even rained in days." Kagome interjected.

"If you two knew why didn't you do anything?" Tazuna asked.

"I assumed that Kakashi-sensei ad a plan when he did nothing and on a personal level I wanted to prove to you I wasn't weak." The old man sniffed at the dangerous tone in her voice as she said the word 'weak'.

"As for my part, it goes toward Kagome's question. There was something I wanted to find out." The two men looked each other in the eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"Meaning, they were either after you or one of us." Kakashi's mind moved to Kagome for a moment without any real reason. "You didn't tell us that there were any ninja after you. We were hired to protect you from thieves or gangs. This mission has now moved above this team's abilities. If it had been known that there were ninja after you this would have been classified as a more expensive B-ranked mission. Now I'm sure you had your reasons but as I said, this is above our team's skills set."

"Maybe we should go back. We can't do anymore." Sakura said shaking. "Let's quit."

"No we have to continue!" Naruto yelled.

"He's right, we took on this mission we have to finish it." Kagome said.

"So the demon brothers have failed." The man laughed.

"Yes, it would seem the ninja protecting the bridge builder are skilled. What are you going to do now?!" The tense voice of another man asked.

A large sword came down between them at the other man's throat. "I'll kill them myself." The first man said.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: I'm sorry to everyone who keeps complaining about the transitions. When I type things up I put one in and a few extra lines in between but when I upload it the lines and breaks disappear. Right now I'm just trying to find out what works.

Chapter 6

(With Asuma and Hōshō)

"I spoke with Kagome earlier." Hōshō said. He sipped his tea and looked at the jounin across from him.

"Oh? How was she?" Asuma took a drag of his cigarette.

"Something was wrong, she seemed…angry, maybe a little hurt."

The older of the two nodded. "Seems about right." He muttered. His friend straightened in surprise at the comment. "Her team was given a mission to escort a man home; the man might have made a comment alluding to Kagome looking weak."

"How'd she react?"

"She wasn't too pleased. She stormed out after attempting to attack him. Before that though…she seemed stronger. She even spoke out about wanted a harder mission to prove herself." He smiled.

Hōshō remembered that while all of them had taken part in the rescue and had each carried her, Asuma had been the first to her and carried her most of the way to the village. Even after that mission he'd visited her all the time. Of all of those involved he had played the biggest role, he tried to be like a father to her. Maybe someday when everything was sorted out, when she could talk about it openly the two of them could be at peace with one another and he could play that role more easily. The medic smiled, then they could both heal.

(With the Travelers)

"Kakashi, we need to talk." Tazuna said as the rode through the mist.

The ride was quiet as the boatman paddled them across. The gentle rocking of the boat almost made Kagome fall asleep. While the power bar had helped to restore her physical strength and chakra supply she had used more of her spiritual power to heal Naruto. Deep down all she wanted do was sleep but she knew the mission came first and she could go a good deal of the mission without that power and without sleep if she had to.

"We're almost there. The Wave country is at the base of the bridge. It should be coming into view soon." The boatman said.

Naruto took in a breath but Kagome covered his mouth and shook her head. Turning to look up at the massive structure towering above them. Stone and iron, and someone was willing to kill to make sure it wasn't built. She looked up at the gaunt boatman. He looked like he hadn't eaten well in a long time. His clothing hid it well, though, and, she was willing to bet, it helped to ward of the bone chilling cold brought on by the mist. They glided into shore silently and Kagome jumped out to help the boat quietly on to the rocky shore.

"About the mission…" Tazuna said causing the group to come to a halt. "You were right. This is far beyond your skills. There is a very evil and very powerful man after me."

"Who?"

"It's Gatou, isn't?" Kagome asked. "I remember reading about a powerful businessman who had taken over the country, I don't remember the details but I do remember that."

"Yes, that's him. On the surface he runs a shipping company but secretly he uses drugs and other illegal items. He uses rogue ninjas and gang thugs to take over businesses and countries." He looked down at his hands. "It was almost a year ago when he set his sights on our country. Through money and violence he quickly took control of the country's shipping industry. He now has a monopoly on all business in the country. The only thing he has to fear now..."

"Is the bridge and as an extension, you." Kagome said.

"So this Gatou guy hired those ninja from before."

Kakashi's eyes darkened for a moment. "What I don't understand is why you lied when you hired us. You knew they were after you, why not hire someone stronger?"

"I-"

"You couldn't afford it could you?" Kagome asked. She was completely serious, which stopped Tazuna's angry response. "You said Gatou runs everything, right? If his company owns everything the whole country must be broke, which, means the bridge is your only hope."

"Yes, we couldn't even afford the cost of a B-ranked mission." He paused. "It's ok, I know I lied. I won't hold you to the mission if you-"

"No. We're seeing this through. We've come this far, we won't back down." Sasuke said sharing a rare smile with his teammates and even managing to coax a small smile out of Kagome.

Kakashi stood in awe at the strength of the team. They had come a long way in teamwork since he'd first met them and it shocked him the way the darker two seemed to come out of their shells around their teammates. A part of him wished they hadn't agreed on keeping on with the mission. There was a good chance the ninja they would be facing would be stronger than the last two. He let his eyes linger on those two. In his initial assumptions about Kagome during his training exercise had been wrong. She hadn't really shown any power but when it came down to life or death she hadn't hesitated to exercise power over her enemies. Sasuke was the opposite. In training he had shown great promise but when it came down to it he had used only the necessary force to win and protect his teammates.

The group moved on. Things were silent besides the crunching of dirt and small rocks beneath their feet. Out of nowhere Naruto grabbed a shuriken and lobbed it into the woods. Everything was silent until the group burst into yelling and shouting. Feeling suddenly trapped by the noise Kagome stepped to the side and looked around. Despite Naruto's idiotic track record she knew there was substance behind his perceived threat. The group started to move again after everyone had calmed down and, having no evidence to support her theory she followed. The mist became thicker just as Naruto freaked out again. This time a bunny rushed out from a place in the bushes. Something about it caught Kakashi's attention. At first she couldn't tell what it was then she saw the white rabbit and she understood. Her eyes glossed over the road. There was no doubt there was a sinister presence watching them but she couldn't nail down its position.

"Everyone, get down." Kakashi yelled.

Sakura jumped to push Tazuna down and Kakashi went for Naruto. A large cleaver like sword lodged itself in a tree not too far from where they'd been standing. Kagome could hear the thud as she pressed herself to the ground, then there was a sound as someone stepped on to it. She cursed herself for not being able to warn them. Kakashi was the first to his feet followed quickly by Naruto and then the others. Kagome was the last to slowly push herself up from the dirt, glaring all the way. There was a moment after Naruto stood up that it looked as though he might try to go after the new enemy but their sensei held the blonde back and started to prepare himself for a possibly big fight.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the Mist's Zabuza Momochi." Kakashi said stepping forward and putting himself between the missing nin and the rest of his group. "This guy's on a whole other level. None of you even stand a chance against a guy like him so stay back and protect the bridge builder." _Against him…It'll be a little thought….unless I do this._

They all backed away slowly and watched as their sensei moved to push his forehead protector off his left eye. His opponent, Zabuza, watched intently over his shoulder at the new development. From where he stood he could feel the fear of the children but the one before him drew his curiosity. With disregard toward his own life he had put himself between his opponent and the rest of his group. Then movement from the group caught his eyes. The dark haired girls hand moved back as if to draw a weapon but she hesitated before clenching her fist. There was no fear in her eyes, only anger and hatred.

From where she stood Kagome could see the smirk on Zabuza's face below his mask. "Interesting. It would appear that you are Kakashi of the Sharingan. I'm sorry but…the old man is mine."

Sasuke's eyes widened. _No that can't be. Only those of the Uchiha line have the ability to use the Sharingan, he couldn't use it. Unless…_

"In order to get to him you'll have to…" he pushed the headband squarely on his head and looked up, "fight me first."

"I'm honored. The fight hasn't begun but I've already been allowed to see the famous sharingan."

"What the heck is the sharingan?" Naruto yelled.

"The Sharingan is a type of doujutsu that allows one to read and defeat all types of jutsu." Sasuke said. His teammates' eyes flashed to him in worry. "But that's not its only power-"

"Huh?"

"Exactly, that's not all, what's even scarier is that you can copy your opponents techniques as soon as you've seen them." Zabuza said. "When I was an assassin for the Hidden Mist I kept a bingo book that included your information, Kakashi. It said that you had copied over 1,000 jutsu. You are the copy ninja, Kakashi Hatake."

_The sharingan is a special physical condition that only appears in a select few members of the Uchiha clan. Does that mean…?_ Sasuke looked up at his sensei. _Could he be…?_

"I'm done with all this chitchat, I have to kill that old man."

The demon ninja moved so fast Kagome couldn't see him. Once again her arm tensed and she thought about pulling a weapon from a scroll to defend her teammates but again she forced herself to relax and let her sensei take care of the enemy. All eyes darted around looking for the enemy at last Sakura called out that he stood _on _the water. She and Naruto seemed surprised that he was able to do so but the others were unimpressed. The next jutsu he used cast a heavy fog around them. Kagome took a strategic step back to put herself in the best position to protect the old man and then motioned for the others to do the same until they formed a circle around him. This time Kagome did pull out a kunai in preparation for any attack. As they did Zabuza disappeared from his perch on the water.

"He'll come after me first. He is a ninja of the Hidden Mist, he was trained in the art of silent killing. If he kills you, you won't even know until it's too late. I can't use the sharingan so you'll have to be careful." Kakashi said looking over his shoulder at them.

"_Eight choices,"_ the voice came from nowhere and made the hair on the back of Kagome's neck stand on end. _"Liver, lungs, spine, clavicle vein, neck vein, brain, kidneys, heart, which should I go after?"_

The all tensed but it was Sasuke who began to truly crumble under the immense dark chakra Zabuza was putting out. For a moment it crossed his mind that he would probably die anyway and it would be easier if he just killed himself to get it over with. His hand shook as it began to pull a kunai up to do the deed. Someone's hand grabbed his wrist stopping the movement. His eyes traveled up his teammates arm to Kagome's sapphire eyes. Her face was in its normal state of blankness but her eyes were full of sincere worry. Kakashi turned back to see them as Kagome released Sasuke's wrist with a nod.

"Sasuke…" the boy turned to look at his sensei. "Don't worry. I'll protect you guys even if it kills me. I don't let my comrades die."

"We'll see about that!" Zabuza reappeared just behind Kagome. "It's over."

Between Zabuza attempting to draw his sword and Kakashi moving in to stop him all four genin found themselves in the dirt. When Kakashi stabbed the other man there was a great explosion of water. _A water clone._ The real Zabuza reappeared behind him, sword at the ready to kill Kakashi. The sword moved effortlessly through Kakashi's body as he too disappeared in an explosion of water. Kagome's widened as she realized what Kakashi had done just as he reappeared behind Zabuza.

"Don't move. It's over."

"Hehehe….did you really think you could beat me those monkey like mimicking? It was impressive of you. You had already copied my water clone jutsu. You had it say those words to distract me while the real you hid in the mist and watched. Very nicely done. But-"Kakashi's kunai pierced Zabuza as another kunai appeared at his throat.

"That one's a fake too?" Naruto yelled as the water clone vanished into puddles at Kakashi's feet.

The all watched as the fight continued Kagome inched closer to the bridge builder who was still close to the fighting sitting on his butt. She pulled his collar slowly keeping her eyes glued to her sensei's movements. The silver haired man ducked a sweep of the sword and was promptly kicked into the water. He seemed to struggle to keep himself up in the water. All the sudden Zabuza appeared above him chuckling.

"Water prison." Kagome's eyes widened as she watched a bubble of seamless water encased her sensei. "You may have been trying to escape my sword but this will just make it so much easier to take down your little team."

Kagome could feel his eyes on them. She inched her way over to the old bridge builder without taking her eyes off of her sensei who was yelling something she couldn't understand. Without a word the four resumed their places around the old man with Kagome at the front staring Zabuza down. Replica Zabuzas rose from the water and toward them slowly. Beside her, Sasuke retrieved a kunai from his hip pouch and she thought about doing the same but thought better of it. They would need more than kunai to take care of Zabuza and get Kakashi back while continuing with their original mission to protect the bridge builder. They needed a plan.

"Wearing headbands, playing at being ninjas….hehehe. Let me tell you a secret about being a real ninja. A real ninja is someone who has survived numerous encounters with death." His words brought back memories of her pain filled past. By his definition she was more than a real ninja. "Once you're good enough to show up in the bingo book you can start calling yourselves ninja. Until then, you shouldn't go around calling yourselves ninja."

As if sensing his weakness, Zabuza immediately went for Naruto. He knocked the younger boy back so hard that his headband flew from his head. Kakashi screamed warnings at them again but his words were lost on Kagome's still deaf ears. For a moment she tore her eyes from Zabuza and found Naruto several feet away on the ground. The blonde's eyes were on the cut from before. She could almost feel his train of thought. They had promised to keep going on this mission and they weren't here to give up. Naruto stood and ran at the clone only to get flung backwards yet again.

"What are you doing? We are genin we have no chance against him!" Sakura yelled.

Both girls watched as Sasuke was about to move towards Naruto but stepped back looking at their misshapen circle and then at the clone. "Go. I'll deal with the clones you take care of whatever it is you have planned."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Kagome let Naruto do the talking and grabbed a scroll from her hip pouch. All eyes were on Naruto and Sasuke who were plotting near where Naruto had been thrown by Zabuza originally and Sakura had taken Kagome's place in front of Tazuna. Everything was perfect. But now it was time for them to forget about Naruto and Sasuke and focus on her. She bit her thumb and unraveled the scroll summoning her katana. Immediately the clone's eyes were on her. She drew the sword slowly letting the light dance off the wickedly sharp, pure silver blade. The demon ninja laughed at what he assumed was an attempted to look menacing.

"So the little girl has a little sword. It won't help you." The Zabuza clone said.

Kagome laughed. "Did you hear earlier when Kakashi-sensei said he wouldn't let his comrades die?" The laughter in her voice vanished. "I won't either. I will admit though of all my skills Kenjutsu is my weakest. I have had to practice with this sword every day for years and the technique still isn't right but it should be enough."

The light caught the edge of the blade as she moved it to the ready and jumped into action. In response Zabuza brought down his cleaver of a sword right down on top of her. She surprised them all by blocking the blow and then deflecting it with a slashing motion that sent the water clone into a tree. Moving with great speed she finished the clone off before it could do anything else. Tazuna stared at her with wide eyes as two more clones appeared and were dispatched in an instant with only a few swipes of her sword. If her kenjutsu was her weakest skill he would hate to see the others and he would hate to see her go one on one with an opponent rather than acting as a distraction.

"Now, let's get wild!" Naruto said drawing Zabuza's attention once more.

As soon as the clone was distracted by Naruto's actions Kagome sliced through the clone. From within the water Kakashi continued to scream at the to run and take Tazuna with them, that they could not win against Zabuza. Naruto looked to Tazuna for permission to continue the fight and the bridge builder shrugged his shoulders in consent. He said that he was the cause of the problem and that he wouldn't stand in their way. The two boys prepared themselves for their attack.

"Hnn…when I was your age, my hands were already stained in blood." Zabuza said.

"The Demon of the Mist." Kagome whispered in partial awe that the stories were true.

"So even you've heard of it. "

Kagome pressed her lips together. The others noticed a fear in her eyes that they'd never seen before and realized that they should probably be afraid too. Luckily Kakashi finished her explanation. "Years ago, the Village Hidden in the Mist was commonly known as Blood Mist Village because of the final obstacle to becoming a ninja was…."

"So you even know about that."

"About what?" Naruto asked looking between the three of them.

"In order to become ninja the student were forced to duel to the death against each other. Friends who had eaten lunch together, trained together, shared dreams, lived their whole lives together…forced to fight until…until one of them lost their life." Naruto looked at his fellow outcast with wide eyes. Her body shook but none of them could make out her facial expression. Killing your friends, it was just despicable.

"Ten years ago the Hidden Mist was forced to change this practice after a demon appeared and without pause or hesitation killed over a hundred students. The boy was not a ninja and he just killed them all."

Without warning a new Zabuza clone appeared and attacked Sasuke. Naruto cursed and immediately summoned a large group of shadow clones to save his friend. Unfortunately they were not enough to combat the strength of the water clone and were easily thrown back. Pulling off his pack and reaching in, he produced some kind of weapon and threw it to Sasuke. Kagome immediately recognized this as their plan with a small smirk. Sasuke opened the giant windmill and threw it at Zabuza who was expecting a direct attack on his water clone. The older ninja easily caught the thing while still keeping Kakashi prisoner but he did not expect the second shuriken to appear from the firsts shadow aimed at his other arm, the one supporting the water prison. He dodged the second as easily as the first. Worry crept into Kagome as she watched. Was this their plan?

Even as Zabuza dodged the second shuriken a clone of Naruto appeared behind him and produced a kunai that he threw once again at Zabuza's outstretched arm this time successfully catching him off guard and releasing his sensei. Zabuza turned to face the real Naruto ready to throw the shuriken back at him. Recognizing the threat Kagome prepared to move but it was Kakashi who stopped the thing form being thrown. The group watched relived as he stood from the water still holding the enemy at bay. Wary eyes slid over his students and the bridge builder. Kagome still had her sword drawn and there was an opened wound on her arm but even she seemed unaware. Save for Sasuke's wounds everyone else looked fine.

"What will you do now?" Kakashi asked.

Sensing the real fight was about to begin Kagome moved back to the group puling Sasuke back with her healing him as she went. She kept her eyes on the fight waiting for Zabuza to make a real move. The speed at which they cast their hand signs made it hard for her to follow. Twin water dragons formed and crashed into each other and causing the excess to break over the small group. Seeing the wave coming Kagome cast a barrier jutsu protecting them. Soon enough Kakashi was messing with Zabuza's mind copying the man's lip movements saying exactly what he did making him think his mind was being read. But she wasn't able to pay attention to the fight for much longer, she had let her guard down and the last remaining clone had surfaced behind her.

His first blow came from the butt of his sword at her cheek. She fell down nearly stabbing herself with her own sword. She pushed herself up only to have Zabuza's clone step on her shoulder pushing her back to the ground. Above her Sakura cried out and Zabuza only laughed as Kagome continued to struggle against him and continued to fail to remove his foot as he put even more of his weight onto her petit form.

"What did I say little girl? You're too weak to stand a chance against me." Zabuza laughed.

Kagome growled. All of the sudden she began to push herself up, grabbing Zabuza's leg. It dawned on Sasuke that Kagome was afraid of being too weak to defend her friends that's why she had reacted to being called weak so violently back in the village. Kagome needed her strength, her power not for herself but for those she cared about. He watched as Kagome twisted beneath his foot, throwing him off of her and as she stood bringing her sword to the ready. Almost immediately Zabuza was back at her, swinging his cleaver like sword at her. For a moment Sasuke was afraid her smaller sword might snap in half under the force of the blow. Taking one hand away from the blade she cast a series of hand signs as she continued to hold Zabuza off with the sword in the other hand.

"Katon: Karyu Endan." A large blast of fire spewed from her mouth destroying the clone and distracting the real Zabuza.

Caught off guard Zabuza didn't notice Kakashi's next move until the blast of water threw him into the air and sending him, rather ungracefully, in to a nearby tree. "It's over." Kakashi stated.

Zabuza didn't get the chance to respond when three needles embedded themselves into his throat. The group spun around looking for the culprit. Naruto noticed the ninja first and drew everyone's attention in the ninja's direction. They wore a mask signifying that they were from the Mist but otherwise there was nothing unique about them. There was no doubt in Kagome's mind that despite the disguise the ninja was not truly there to kill Zabuza, it was more likely that the masked ninja worked for the Demon of the Mist. Kakashi appeared next to the body and checked for a pulse conforming that he was indeed dead.

"Thank you very much. I've been waiting for an opportunity to kill Zabuza for a long time." The boy behind the mask said.

"You're a hunter-nin, from the Mist, aren't you?" Kakashi asked.

"Very perceptive, I am indeed."

"A hunter-nin?" Naruto asked.

"He's an elite tracker assigned to track down missing-nin and kill them. When a ninja leaves his village he is branded a traitor and must be killed in order to keep the villages secrets from enemy villages or rogue groups." Kagome explained. "You look no older than us."_ This guy is extremely dangerous, if he is working for Zabuza…it could be bad. _

"What the hell? Who the hell are you?" Naruto yelled.

Kagome immediately clamped her hand over his mouth. "Naruto." The blonde looked at his sensei. "He is not the enemy, don't worry about it."

Naruto escaped her grasp. "That's not what I'm saying! Zabuza was strong and that kid just illed him like it was nothing. He's not much different from any of us. We look stupid! How am I supposed to understand that?!"

"I know how you feel but the simple truth is that there are kids younger than you who are stronger than me." _And I think there might be one like that right here on our team. _He eyed Kagome wearily.

"Your battle is now over. I will dispose of the body. Farewell."

"We should get Tazu-" Kakashi collapsed and the two dark haired genin each took a side and walked him to the bridge builder's house. Neither was in great shape but they managed to hold each other up. The petal haired female doted on the raven haired male, constantly worrying him and trying to get him to let someone else carry the load but he brushed her off. Silently Tazuna walked beside the other girl listening to her heavy breathing and the dragging of her feet as she walked. Whenever Sakura would open her mouth Kagome would roll her eyes. A couple of times she would open her mouth as if to ask Sakura to carry her side but in the end she didn't.

"I could carry him if you'd like." Tazuna offered.

"I'm fine." She said.

They reached the house without any disturbances from the Mist ninjas. Kagome was weary though. The hunter nin didn't sit well with her for some reason and in her current state she was in no position to try and find out why. Tazuna's daughter let them into the house making sure the two could carry Kakashi safely through. They laid Kakashi out on a palate on the first floor of the house. Kagome sat on the opposite side of the door to the room with her eyes closed, using her powers to heal herself. Eventually, Tazuna's daughter left to prepare dinner and the others unpacked supplies and bandaged wounds. No one truly spoke besides Sakura or Tazuna and his daughter when the later needed to know something.

There was a shifting noise in front of Kagome but she was practically asleep. Finally, something warm touched the place on her lip where it had busted from Zabuza's blow. The touch woke her up and without realizing it, she grabbed the wrist of Tazuna's daughter. Said woman was shocked at the swift reaction from the girl. Suddenly alert to her surrounding Kagome let go and leaned back still keeping eye contact with the startled woman.

"I'm s-sorry, did I-?" Tazuna's daughter asked.

"No, it's alright. I was just startled." The gentleness in her voice surprised everyone. Everyone watched the short exchange. The other three genin had never seen Kagome accept someone's help so easily.

Kagome's heart clenched as the woman cleaned her wounds gently. It brought back memories of her surrogate mother. When she was still fresh out of the hospital her mother had tended her wounds with similar gentleness. Since her death Kagome hadn't let anyone come close enough to take care of any of her wounds even though some had been serious enough to warrant a return to Konoha's hospital. Yet somehow this woman was able to get close and brave her cold exterior. When the woman was done she left without a word and returned to the kitchen.

"Thank you." Kagome whispered. Just then Kakashi began to make some sound and all attention turned to him.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Kagome stood up and turned to fully face the others. Tired muscles protested against the movement but she forced herself to stay up. There was the slightest bit off movement from Kakashi's eyes that gave her the slightest hint that he was trying to wake himself up. No one else had noticed her or Kakashi having gone off into their own worlds after the short interaction between her and Tazuna's daughter. Suddenly Kakashi shot up alert starling the others. Sakura jumped to his aid, pushing him into a sitting position and stabilizing him.

"Sensei are you alright?"

The others chimed in but Kagome just stood there waiting until they were done. Kakashi waved them off and then noticed her standing there. "Good you're awake. There's something I want to run by you, I was thinking it over while you were out. I don't think Zabuza is dead." The others made sounds of astonishment. She waited till they were done. "I couldn't figure it out at first but then I went over the whole thing in my head and it hit me. If that guy was a hunter nin they would have killed Zabuza then and there."

"Maybe they didn't want us to see." Sakura inter injected.

"Once a ninja is dead the secrets held in his body vanish."

"But he did kill him." Naruto yelled. "You checked!"

Kagome looked at Kakashi who nodded for her to continue. "If the hunter nin was real he would have chosen a more lethal area, guarantee the kill. The area of the neck that h hit wasn't. It is far more likely that Zabuza is alive and the boy is working with him on this."

"You've really thought about this. I'm going to have to agree with you on this one." He shifted a bit.

"What are we going to do then, Sensei?" Sakura cried out melodramatically.

"None of us are in any shape to fight, least of all me. We need to rest up and do a little training to prepare you guys to take on Zabuza. Shinobi strategy is to prepare before it's too late." Kakashi said.

"What about Zabuza? If he's still out there there's no telling when he'll come after Tazuna again." Kagome said.

Tazuna stared at the girl. He could have sworn the girl hated him and would rather see him in pain than protect him. The raven haired girl was stranger than he'd expected and now he realized he had been so wrong about calling her weak in her village. She was stronger than any of them.

"About that, Zabuza was put into momentary death, that's how I got it wrong. Anyone in that situation would take days for their bodies to heal and regain their strength."

A wide grin spread across Naruto's face. "So we train until then. Sounds perfect."

Kagome felt a smirk tug at her lips. Then she looked at their Sensei and frowned. There was no way he would be up to any fighting should their estimates be wrong, the man could barely sit up on his own, he probably couldn't walk. He was useless. She sighed and moved closer to him. He looked up at her and looked her in the eye. She hesitated for a moment. Healing his wounds would not only deplete her energy but would stop her own healing as well. Her muscles cried out in pain as she squatted down in front of him.

"Sensei, you're no good to us wounded. If we are attacked by other ninja or are wrong about Zabuza, you'll weigh us down." She said bluntly.

"What are you suggesting, Kagome?"

"I can repair the damage, if you want me to."

Kakashi stared at his mysterious student. He could sense she was holding something back, like what she was about to do would cost her something, yet she was willing to do it. He couldn't help but feel like she know so much more than she was letting on but at the same time it was like it wasn't his to know at all. It scared him to think what might be hidden behind those hard blue eyes. She was a mystery, a canvas covered in cloth and made to look like nothing was painted on it. No matter the weather she covered every inch of skin like she had something to hide. When he'd first seen her, when Asuma had first brought her to the village he'd seen the bandages and could only assume the amount of damage someone had done to her.

He nodded slowly. "Can you really? You took a lot of damage yourself, are you in any condition to be healing someone else?"

"I'll be fine, sensei," she said doing her best to leave her answer there.

Standing behind him she forced healing energy into his back and began repairing his chakra network. It seemed like he did this a lot without any sort of healing. By the time she was done she was slightly dizzy but managed to heal his physical injuries as well. She stepped back and watched with the others as he stood up straight on his own. He thanked her just as Tazuna's daughter came in to remind them about dinner. The shock was evident on her face and when she looked at Kagome there was worry in her eyes. She didn't say anything, just returned to the kitchen. As the group sat down a little boy came down stairs.

"Inari!" Tazuna yelled. "Come give grandpa a hug." The boy did so as he glared at each of them. "Inari, these are the ninja keeping grandpa safe."

"You're all going to die." Inari said.

The room was dead silent in the wake of his statement. Kagome raised an eyebrow at him and swayed a little. Suddenly she was thankful the rest of the room was intent on him and Kakashi wasn't watching her. As she steadied herself she couldn't help but wonder what had made the boy say that. He didn't know any of them so he couldn't hate them or want them dead. He had to have seen something that would make him believe it to be true. Looking at Tazuna her suspicions were confirmed.

"Inari, stop that! Don't be rude to are guests." His mother said sternly.

"But it's true, no one stands up to Gato, no one."

"Hey, listen, Inari, right?" _Naruto, don't…._ "I'm a hero. I'm going to be the hokage someday, believe it. So don't count me out just yet." Naruto said.

"Idiot, there are no such things as heroes." Inari said turning back upstairs.

"Inari where are you going?" his mother called.

"To look at the ocean from my room."

Biting her tongue in disbelief of her own actions, Kagome made a plate for herself and the boy. She walked up stairs calmly as if daring someone to stop. Sasuke was about to say something but there was something about the way she walked that stopped him. She was intent on helping the boy. So he turned back to the group's conversation.

"What happened?" Kakashi asked Tazuna.

"Years ago, when Gato first came to the mist, Inari's father stood up to him and tried to lead the others to do the same. He failed. Gato ordered the man publicly executed. Inari had to watch. Ever since he hasn't had much hope, none of us have. That's why we need this bridge."

(With Kagome)

Following the boy she found herself standing outside a door as she listened to him crying. Her old self was breaking through. She needed to help him so bad it hurt. She entered quietly not wanting to startle him. Placing his plat in front of him she leaned against the window sill. His sobs decreased as he turned to look at her. Trying to respect him Kagome just looked out on the waves that gave this country its name. Like everything its beauty was more than dangerous.

"What do you want?" he asked fisting his eyes.

"Just thought you might be hungry and didn't want you to have to eat alone." She still wasn't looking at him. "Do you want to talk about it?" His silence answered her completely.

She took a deep breath and just ate. Noticing she wasn't going to push it he followed suite. Every now and then he would stop and stare at her from the corner of his eye. She was so a peace in the silence it scared him a little. Everyone else always wanted him to talk. Tell them how he felt so that they could try and make him feel better. They just wanted to feel better about themselves, like they'd done something right. None of them actually cared and when he didn't feel better after a while they stopped asking and avoided him.

"I once knew a man who could turn in to a giant dog. He had the foulest temper. He was a bitter and jealous man. But there was this little girl, she helped him and then he saved her life. Melted his heart, he became one of the kindest men I knew, like a big brother who'd do anything for you." She looked down with a smile then she turned back up to look at the stars. "The little girl loved him with all her heart and when they'd visit we'd all watch as she collected fireflies or just danced in the starlight. She would say that the stars were fireflies or nymphs or ghosts and the man's servant would argue with her. I forget what he said but we would just sit there and laugh."

"What happened to them? The man and the girl and his servant?" Inari asked.

Her smile dropped. "They're gone; they died a long time ago."

"My father stood up to Gato and Gato killed him."

Her face darkened even more. Gato had to be the worst piece of shit human to walk this earth. She had known monsters almost all of her life but this man had ravaged a country all for money. No wonder Zabuza worked for him as a hired thug. They were an alliance of pure evil keeping the waves in a tight grip. Looking back at the boy she thought back to what had been said earlier. It was up to them to save the land of the waves or at least keep Tazuna safe to save it so that Inari could believe again. No amount of words would change him only their actions.

"I know it's hard to believe in a guy like Naruto or in a girl like me but we're here to help. That's our duty. Your grandfather will finish his bridge and we will protect him one hundred percent. I know it's hard to believe but we have to and Naruto is an amazing ninja and, no matter what, we will keep your grandfather safe."

She put her hands on his shoulders. His eyes were wide. Traveling done to where they touched and then following her arms back up to her face he saw the scars on her arms through a gash and could see her muscle beneath. They reminded him of his father's arms, strong and marked with evidence of what he would do for others. He nodded slowly once he had reached her face. She smiled lightly once again before taking their plates and leaving. He watched after her and then turned back to look at the waves.

(Downstairs)

Kagome joined Tazuna's daughter in the kitchen and helped to clean up. The others eyed her wondering if she would open up about what had gone on upstairs. Instead, she focused on her work beside the older woman. As soon as she was done she was gone. Sasuke almost followed her but it was Naruto who stopped him. The Uchiha forced himself not to say anything until he noticed the look on the blonde's face. He had never seen the other boy so serious before.

"Sasuke, let her go. She's used to being alone all the time. She needs it right now." Naruto said.

It had never crossed anyone's mind that despite the two being outcast by the village they might have accepted each other. They finished their meal in silence. Afterwards Kakashi went outside to see if he could find his loner student. There were so many questions he had for her. They started from the day she was found to the present. When he couldn't find her he headed back to the house and found Inari on the dock looking out on the waves. The jounin sat down beside the boy surprised at how easily his muscles responded and the lack of pain from his injuries. Whatever Kagome had done had fixed him up completely.

"I'm sorry about Naruto, he can be a little…over the top at times. But I bet you that's his defense mechanism. Without it he wouldn't be able to face the villagers who treat him like trash and refuse to acknowledge him at all. I'm willing to bet that he's forced himself not to cry about it anymore. You see, he never knew his parents and everyone in the village hates him for no real reason. Yet, he keeps going, swearing to become Hokage one day." Kakashi said looking out on the waves.

"What about her, Kagome?" Inari asked after a moment.

The jounin sighed. "She is an enigma, that one. The very first time I saw her she was seven, half dead, being carried in to the village on the backs of a squad that had saved her. She was so small. She barely spoke and no matter what she wouldn't show any emotion. Then, the next time I saw her, there was light in those eyes, a beautiful bright blue light. She looked like a real kid. But that's when it all went wrong. I was there when they brought her to see the bodies, the house. There was so much blood." Kakashi's visible eye looked sad. "The only family she'd ever known was killed, even the baby. I watched as her eyes became dull again, lifeless. She never cried for them. I don't think she can anymore, like she forced herself to stop a long time ago."

Inari was silent taking it all in. "She told me this story. It was about a man and a little girl. How she and the man would watch as the girl danced under the night sky. How they died. She seemed so alone, like she couldn't let anyone close."

"I suspect she thinks that." Kakashi thought back to that first day she'd gone looking for with an angry guilt in her eyes. She wanted out of the group so badly but somehow she'd convinced herself to stay. "Inari, I want you to remember something you aren't alone. Others are suffering too and they may look to you one day to save them, be ready and don't let them down."

_**Sorry it took so long. I'm in Highschool and super busy.**_


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Kagome walked up stairs long after everyone else had gone to sleep to the room she shared with Sakura. Tired muscles protested each movement but she managed to shower before she crawled into bed. The hot water eased away most of her pain except for a hollow ache in her head. She closed her eyes praying for peaceful sleep. Instead she opened her dear eyes to crimson puddles of blood. She was still in the girl's room at Tazuna's house. Beside her, Sakura's body lay in a mangled mockery of peaceful sleep with cold blood staining the walls and the other girl's sheets. Kagome swallowed a scream. She stood ankle deep in blood and realized that she herself had been cut as well. Wounds aching and unable to heal she stumbled out in to the hallway to find Tazuna's daughter strewn across the top of the stair case. Blood dripped like a waterfall down the stairs. As Kagome took tentative steps toward the woman she realized that the skin of the woman's face had been peeled off. Her stomach flopped painfully.

_Oh, Gods, _She thought. _Inari, the others. _

Feet pounding against the wood, slipping from the residual blood on her feet she ran for the others. Still she made it to Inari's room as intact as she had been before. She almost relaxed when she saw him lying curled up in his bed but as she got closer she noticed that he, too, was just a mangled corpse. A sob escaped her throat. How had she allowed this to happen? Hadn't she sworn to protect them? And what about the others? In her dreams it was always three, never more than the dead bodies of her family. She ran down the hallway carefully avoiding Tazuna's daughter and picked her way down the stairs.

"Naruto? Sasuke? Kakashi-sensei? Tazuna-san?" she called.

There was no answer. She found the rest of the squad where Kakashi had been sleeping. It looked like Naruto had tried to fight back and had only gotten worse for it while Kakashi had tried to protect them both. But where was the bridge builder? She heard a muffled cry behind her in the kitchen. Slowly, hopefully she turned around only to find that, while Tazuna was alive he wouldn't be for much longer. Blood red eyes met hers just a set of claws slashed a cross his throat. She screamed and then he was behind her, holding her up as the blood continued to flow. He whispered accusations and promises in her ear as they watched the last of her friends die.

"Please, please, just kill me. Please!" She cried as his claws tore into the flesh of her arms.

"No, not yet. First pain, then we'll see about death." He promised.

"Please!" she sobbed.

She was crying, not for her own pain but for those she had let die. She had let them all down. They had trusted her, welcomed her, and in the end it was her demon that had killed them. The man who enjoyed her misery had killed them out of sport. All because she cared. The beating continued, she was numb. The whole time her eyes were on the bloodied body of Tazuna. In her mind she apologized over and over for his death and that of his family. Finally his clawed hands wrapped around her throat the sharpness of his claws nicking her skin as she thrashed and fought for breath. For a moment she wondered if it was really the end. Her world began to dim and she was too tired to fight him anymore. It was finally over.

Kagome shot straight up gasping for air just as the earliest rays of predawn light were beginning to enter through her window. That was the first time he'd let her die, the first time she'd begged him to do so. She stood up and cracked her back. The world outside was silent, still, somehow strikingly different from the realm of her nightmare. Besides the sounds she'd made and _his _voice at the very end there had been nothing. She shuddered as she walked in to the hallway, there were no bodies, of course not, it was only a nightmare. _Only a nightmare, _she repeated.

"Good morning Higurashi-san." Tazuna's daughter called.

"Morning." Kagome mumbled, her voice soft and quiet like it had been when she'd first come to the village.

The older women was preparing breakfast quietly. For a while Kagome watched from the wall as the woman pulled what she could together to feed them all. It made her sick the way the people in this country starved and how Tazuna's family was forced to feed them. Silently she slipped out of the kitchen and walked to the woods. She gathered herbs from what Kaede had taught her years before. When she had enough she put them in her hip pouch and brought out a bow from one of her scrolls. Before coming to this world hunting had been second nature to killing demons. She brought down a deer the first shot she took. Skinning it she cut up portions on the meat and sealed them in an empty scroll. She washed her hands and went back to the house.

"Your back!" Tazuna's daughter cried when she came back in. "I was so worried you left without a word. I didn't know…..what…"

Kagome placed the scroll on the counter and brought out the fresh meat. "I thought this might help."

"Where did you…?"

"Hunting in the woods. It's deer meat."

Producing the herbs from her pouch she helped the older woman to make breakfast for the group and pack a lunch for the bridge builder. The others came down slowly and Kakashi despite her healing, limped into the dining room. They sat down to eat. Kagome looked around the table. Last night all of them were dead in her nightmare. Because of her knowing them. She ate silently feeling the weight of her memories pushing at her soul.

"What kind of training will we be doing today, sensei?" Sakura asked.

"I'll show you when we get out there." Kakashi said standing up. As the team walked outside he fell behind and pulled Kagome aside. "I want you to go back with the bridge builder make sure nothing happens. We don't know if Gato will send more of his men to do what Zabuza failed to."

Kagome nodded and slipped back to the house. Turning around Kakashi continued on with the rest of the team. In truth he wanted her there to see if he was right about her abilities but he knew enough to believe that she would be able to protect Tazuna almost as well as he could. Lucky for him Kagome was the quietest of the group so the other three didn't notice she wasn't there. Even though he was pleased they didn't notice it worried him how little people cared for her. He had noticed others in the village openly ignore her or glare at her. It worried him but it didn't seem to bother her at all.

"Hey where'd Kagome go?" Naruto asked when they got to the training spot.

"I had her go back and guard the bridge builder." Kakashi explained. "Now for today's training. Tree climbing. But first what can you tell me about chakra?"

(With Kagome)

Tazuna's daughter made Kagome a lunch as soon as she heard that the kunoichi would be going with him to the bridge. Meanwhile the bridge builder thought on the girl and what she'd already done for him. In the battle she'd been wounded for him and had spoken up to protect him. He had insulted her in the village, called her weak. In fact she was far stronger than any of the others. She was also haunted. He had seen it in her eyes at breakfast and he noticed it as she ruffled Inari's hair before they left. The girl had seen far more that her companions. He didn't know when or why but it had followed her here.

"So, tell me, when did you decide to become a ninja?" he asked.

"The first time I thought about it was about two months after I was brought to the village. I was just a kid. With all the pain I'd felt for years before that I was beginning to feel at home there. Someone had told me about this feeling the villagers felt that connected them and…I had a desire to be a part of it. But then things changed." Her face hardened.

"Kagome?" he asked sensing the pain the subject held for her.

"The family that took me in was murdered. Even baby Ai. That was when I knew I would become a ninja. I would be strong enough to protect the people I cared about. I wouldn't let them down again." Her eyes hardened.

She didn't speak much the rest of the day. The men let her help when the noticed her strength. Nothing happened in the ninja attack department but Tazuna was thankful for the consideration. The two headed back to the house around dusk, Kagome with three or four fish of a dozen she'd stopped to catch and then give away. Back at the house she helped to prepare the food. For what seemed like hours they waited for the rest of team seven to show up. Finally Sakura and Kakashi showed up.

"What happened to the boys?" Kagome asked.

"Stayed behind to finish up. You missed it I mastered the technique in five minutes. Right, sensei?" Sakura said chipper with a hint of smugness.

Looking at her sensei, Kagome raised her eyebrow, the man shrugged. "Oh, really what technique was it?"

"A chakra control technique. You seem to have fine chakra control, that's why I let you go back. Anyway, all one has to do is focus their chakra on the soles of their feet and use it to climb a tree without the use of their hands." Kakashi explained.

"I read about that once. I actually tried out the water version on my own once."

Noticing the way Sakura's face fell Kagome fought off a smirk. It was bad, almost as bad as the boys but it was fun to see Sakura knocked down a peg. The training was below academy level in her mind. To her, training was difficult, it made you sore for weeks, and then it made you stronger. Mastering a technique like that in such short time would have led Kagome to find a harder technique to try and practice until it was as close to perfection as possible. She let the thoughts go as the boys walked in and dinner was served.


End file.
